NEW DELHI: Sitting on a huge stockpile of rice, which is more than four times the required stock, and finding no takers despite offering 23 lakh tonnes for ethanol production, govt is likely to reduce the reserved sale price of the foodgrain for distilleries. Govt is also looking at whether around 10 lakh tonnes of surplus sugar can be allowed for export.
While ISMA, the umbrella body of Indian sugar mills, on Thursday sought govt approval for export of around 20 lakh tonnes of excess sugar, Union food secretary Sanjeev Chopra said as per estimates around 8-10 lakh tonnes will be surplus after meeting the requirement for domestic consumption, ethanol blending and the ‘opening stock’ for the next season.
“Govt will take a call on whether this surplus stock can be used for ethanol production or export,” Chopra said in response to a question on the sidelines of an ISMA event. He added that the option for export could be considered, if govt finds that there is enough feedstock available for ethanol production to meet the requirement.
In his address, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said he will try to convince the Group of Ministers headed by home minister Amit Shah to allow export of surplus sugar and revise the minimum sale price (MSP) of the sweetener at factory gate. Gadkari is a member of the panel as well. The sugar MSP was last time increased to Rs 31 per kg in February 2019 from Rs 29 per kg in 2018.
Meanwhile, TOI has learnt that to make more rice from FCI stock available for grain-based distilleries, govt is weighing the option to lower the sale price to around Rs 24-25 per kg compared to the current rate of Rs 32 a kilo. The high rate is one of the reasons why there has been no taker of FCI rice. “The price is unavailable and the process is cumbersome. Govt needs to reduce the price of rice and increase the price of ethanol,” said an industry insider.
The current stock of rice with the FCI, including unmilled paddy to be converted for rice, is around 500 lakh tonnes against the stocking norm of 214 lakh tonnes. Responding to a question from TOI the food secretary accepted that the rice stockpile is a matter of concern and govt is looking at options to liquidate the stock.
